Bookmark 02/2024

Bookmark
No. 2/2024
The English Magazine
by Orell Füssli Thalia AG
Magazine
Coco Mellors focuses
on sister relationships in
her new novel – p. 5
p. 3 Artificial Intelligence
p. 12 Books for Book Lovers
p. 18 What We Loved

Christine Roth
Head of Marketing &
Communication
Orell Füssli Thalia AG
The next issue of Bookmark,
the English magazine by
Orell Füssli Thalia AG, will be
published in June 2025.
Dear Reader
With the days growing colder and darker,
this time of year is perfect for curling up
with a good book. Books yield a special type
of magic – they open portals to new worlds,
experiences and knowledge. Discover some
of that magic in our list of must-read titles
for true book lovers. On page 12, you’ll get
a taste of stories filled with quirky smalltown
bookshops, magical libraries and meet
cutes in front of bookshelves.
Books also help us learn and make sense of
the world around us, especially in times of
rapid technological developments. We have
all heard of artificial intelligence (AI), but
what do we really know about it? How does
it work, and what does a future with AI
hold for us? Have a look at our round-up of
some of the most recent literature in reaction
to the growth of AI to get an informed
and insightful overview on the topic.
Last, but certainly not least, we are delighted
to highlight Coco Mellors, breakthrough
author of the much-loved Cleopatra and Franken
stein. In our interview, she chats about
family dynamics, how writing her new novel
Blue Sisters pushed her out of her comfort
zone, and which books have shaped her as
an author and reader.
I hope the upcoming pages of our magazine
help you discover some of the captivating
new reads this wonderful season has to offer.
Warmest regards
Christine Roth
The following list is a round-up of some of the most recent literature
in reaction to the growth of AI, offering insight into how it works,
how intelligent it actually is, and what a future with AI holds for
humanity. The insights are a mix of optimism and excitement, but
also cautious warnings and roadmaps of what steps can be taken,
to ensure balance as the inevitable unfolds.
1 Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the
Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari
Starting with the possibly most anticipated non-fiction title of the
year, Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari is finally here. The renowned
author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind utilises his historical
lens to weave a thorough study of how information networks have
been created and have shaped our world through the ages.
From the Stone Age through to the weaponisation of information
during witch hunts, from the propaganda of the World Wars to
today’s rise of non-human intelligence, also known as AI, Harari
explores how information is controlled, manipulated and often
even turned into lies. The conclusion is an urgent message to humanity:
we must harness the potential of AI ethically, in a way that protects
truth, democracy and humanity itself.
Imprint
Editor: Orell Füssli Thalia AG,
Dietzingerstrasse 3, Postfach, 8036 Zurich
Authors: Christine Modafferi, Fanny Lewis
Editorial staff: Orell Füssli Thalia AG
Design: design.isch. GmbH
Cover photo: Zoe Potkin
5
8
12
«Emotionally, this novel
took me deeper than
I’ve ever gone before.»
Interview with bestselling
author Coco Mellors
Rip-Roaring Releases
Discover the season’s
best titles
Books for Book Lovers
Curl up with comfort reads
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18
22
24
Artificial Intelligence
Fascination and Fear
What We Loved
Recommendations
from our book experts
Stories for Young and Old
Discover magical tales
Our branches
An overview of our shops
Prices are subject to change. Current retail prices and an extensive selection of books, films and games can be found at www.orellfuessli.ch.
Titles marked with these symbols are also available as e-book or audiobook.
Artificial
Intelligence
The world loves and loathes AI:
fascinated by its endless promise, we’re
equally terrified of the consequences
of its progress. And scientists, lawyers,
researchers and historians have a lot
to say about it.
Text by Christine Modafferi
Bookmark Magazine
2 The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman
Former vice president of AI product management and AI policy at
Google, Mustafa Suleyman, offers a warning to humanity with his
book The Coming Wave. Technology is moving at a racing pace and
its risks are completely unprecedented – he predicts an AI-filled
life in which technology organises our most intimate needs and runs
government services.
While Suleyman seems to share similar views as Harari, he also
works robotics and synthetic biology into his analysis and predictions.
Suleyman discusses the difficulties of containing technology,
should it reach ill-intended hands. He reflects on how the advancement
of technology has democratised power and the many risks that
come with it. While there are glimmers of hope, by the end of this
book, we approach ‘the coming wave’ with a newfound awareness
that we must continue to read, listen and pay attention in this pivotal
historical moment.
3 Artificial Intelligence by Melanie Mitchell
How many of us have gone onto ChatGPT, asked it to create a text,
and come away utterly unimpressed with the results? One cannot help
but wonder how intelligent AI actually is. With Artificial Intelligence,
the brilliant Melanie Mitchell, professor of computer science and
award-winning author, gets into the nitty-gritty of AI’s advancement
status. She brings fellow experts’ knowledge to the table, setting all
hype to the side to provide a clear explanation that even the least
technologically inclined will understand.
What sets this book apart is how Mitchell so succinctly describes the
current dominant models of AI, explaining their nuts and bolts, how
far they’ve come, and how much there is yet to learn in the field of AI.
4 Human Rights, Robot Wrongs by Susie Alegre
We’ve seen AI through the eyes of scientists. With Human Rights,
Robot Wrongs, we explore the advent of this technology from a
legal standpoint. Human rights lawyer and digital rights advocate
Susie Alegre worries about what an AI-ridden future might look like.
Second feature
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In her study, Alegre tackles human rights in the wake of technology.
How are our rights to freedom, privacy and life itself threatened?
She investigates the matter by looking at the impact of digital advancement
in healthcare, the environment and even the military,
with real-life case studies to support her findings. This is the perfect
read for those looking to become more well-versed in discussions
involving AI and is a fantastic general introduction on the topic in
relation to ethics.
5 Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of
Artificial Intelligence by Kate Crawford
On the topic of ethics, we have the award-winning Atlas of AI, which
brings to the forefront AI’s lack of neutrality and objectivity and
how it rather reflects our biased, flawed society’s power dynamics
and structures of privilege.
Kate Crawford has spent a lifetime researching the implications of
AI, and in her atlas she discusses everything that is happening
behind the scenes that have made AI what it is today. Her study
reveals there is still much failure behind the glitz and glitter of the
advancement of technology, resulting in environmental damage
and labour exploitation, as well as the reinforcement of stereotypes
and inequality.
6 What is AI? The curious kid’s guide to artificial intelligence
by Neal Layton
All scientists, lawyers, historians and insiders who have studied AI
and its implications seem to agree on one thing: the advancement
of AI is inevitable, and all we can do is to stay informed and help our
little ones build AI literacy.
Younger generations are already growing up with AI very much interlaced
with their daily lives. Award-winning author-illustrator
Neal Layton takes this as a chance to explore the technology. Starting
from humanity’s very first inventions all the way to the many
iterations of computers over the years, he also looks at how computers
learn, what they’re capable of today and what we might be able to
get them to do in the future.
Coco Mellors © Zoe Potkin
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Nexus. A Brief History of
Information Networks
from the Stone Age to AI
The bestselling author’s new book:
how information networks have created
our world and now threaten to destroy it.
Yuval Noah Harari, Penguin Random House UK,
CHF 36.90
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The Coming Wave
Why AI will shape all our lives,
what it means for the future of humanity,
and how to stay on top of it.
Mustafa Suleyman, Penguin Random House US,
CHF 26.90
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4
3
Artificial Intelligence
After reading Mitchell’s guide,
you’ll be able to discern what you and
others don’t know (even if they claim to).
Melanie Mitchell, Penguin Random House UK,
CHF 19.90
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4
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Human Rights, Robot
Wrongs
Artificial intelligence is now shaping every
aspect of our lives, from how we think
to who we love.
Susie Alegre, Faber & Faber, CHF 24.90
Atlas of AI
Power, Politics, and the Planetary
Costs of Artificial Intelligence.
“Emotionally, this novel
took me deeper than
I’ve ever gone before.”
Kate Crawford, Yale University Press, CHF 28.90
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What is AI?
What if a computer could think
and learn like you? A curious kid’s guide
to artificial intelligence.
Coco Mellors chats about her new novel, sisterhood,
and family dynamics.
Neal Layton, Hachette, CHF 16.90
Coco Mellors for Q&A

Coco Mellors © Zoe Potkin
In your new novel, Blue Sisters, you tell
the story of four sisters – where did the
need to write about family and siblings
come from?
“Until you know my sisters, you don’t know
me.” This was the comment, uttered casually
by a friend several years ago when I was
still writing Cleopatra and Frankenstein –
desperately dreaming of finishing one (just
one!) novel – that eventually planted the seed
of Blue Sisters. Was this true of me and my
siblings? I wondered. Could you know me if
you didn’t know them? And, if it was true,
who would I be if I lost one of them?
Which specific family dynamics were you
interested in exploring when developing
the story?
I’m fascinated by the ways siblings shape
each other, how addiction manifests between
generations, and how grief changes us.
I imagined Blue Sisters as a take on sibling
stories like The Royal Tenenbaums, Little
Women and The Corrections, in which three
very different sisters end up returning to
their childhood home in New York after the
death of their fourth sister. It is, first and
foremost, a family novel, but also (because
I’m me, and I can’t write the dark without
the light) about glamour, sex, and the joy of
living.
Characters become three-dimensional to me
when I find their contradictions, so I was
also interested in how these sisters did or
did not live up to the expectations of their
birth order. Avery is a typical eldest daughter
in that she’s perfectionistic and a caretaker,
but she’s also deeply self-destructive
and secretive. Bonnie plays the quintessential
middle child role of the family diplomat,
but is violent for a living – so how does she
square those two sides of herself? And the youngest, Lucky, is outwardly
the most self-reliant and critical of the family, but in many
ways the most sensitive and in need of mothering. They are all
simultaneously adhering to and fighting against their expected role
in the family, and that’s something I don’t think any of us ever
outgrow.
As readers, we get to know the Blue sisters closely. How did
you go about creating a fictional family that at the same time
feels so real?
Emotionally, this novel took me deeper than I’ve ever gone before.
Although the Blue sisters are very different than my own siblings,
I was pulling deeply from the well of my own love towards my family.
I always say about my sister Daisy, “she’s the only person I would
die for who I also want to kill,” and I think that speaks to the messy,
unconditional nature of sibling love. It’s not always pretty!
It also pushed me way past my comfort zone in terms of research.
Bonnie is a professional boxer, so in order to write her fight scenes
with technical accuracy, I trained with a boxing coach in Venice, LA,
for over a year (and even proudly sported a black eye from sparring
to prove it!). I also interviewed models from all over the world to
better understand the youngest sister Lucky’s career as a teen model
in the fashion industry.
“Characters become threedimensional
to me when
I find their contradictions.”
For Avery, who has an affair with a man she meets in AA ten years
into her sobriety, I had countless conversations with other addicts
about how self-destructive impulses can shape-shift in long-term
sobriety. Finally, since I’m a city mouse through and through, one
Coco Mellors grew up in London
and New York, where she received
her MFA in fiction from New York
University. Her first novel, Cleopatra
and Frankenstein, was a Sunday
Times bestseller, has been translated
into over twenty languages, and is
currently being adapted for television.
She lives in New York with her
husband and son.
@TANGY-ON-THE-ROX
RECOMMENDS:
“Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a gripping
story about a troubled relationship,
touching on addiction, mental health, and
flawed characters. It’s perfect for anyone
who likes honest, gritty stories that explore
complicated human feelings.”
Discover more on bookcircle.ch
of my favourite parts of working on Blue Sisters was how, in addition
to New York, I got to try my hand at portraying three of my other
favourite cities: Paris, LA, and London, all of which represent different
parts of these sisters.
You mention doing a lot of research for the novel. Are you a
planner when it comes to your writing process, knowing
exactly where you and your characters are going – or is it
an intuitive process?
I never plan a plot, but I always have a strong sense of each character’s
emotional arc, which intuitively guides me forward. In this story,
I knew that Avery would have to find a way from being dishonest
to honest – with her sisters, her wife, but most importantly with
herself. Bonnie starts the novel disconnected from boxing and the
person she loves most outside of her family, her trainer, so I wanted
her to find connection again in some way. And Lucky begins in a
place of self-destruction, so her journey is one of self-forgiveness,
of trying to find some peace. But how each sister would go about
finding those things, and whether they actually could, I only discovered
by writing the book. I love the E. L. Doctorow quote: “Writing
is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights,
but you can make the whole trip that way.”
Which books would you say have shaped you, both as a reader
and as a writer?
There are books I love because they are simply great stories that
stand the test of time: Middlemarch by George Eliot, On Beauty
by Zadie Smith, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. These are
often my comfort reads. And then there are the novels that elec trified
me and expanded my understanding of what fiction could do.
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner was the first I remember doing
that. I read it as a fifteen-year-old and remember thinking, “Wait,
we’re allowed to write like this!?” I felt the same when I read
Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. Structurally, it reached
the ceiling of what I thought a novel could do, then punched a hole
through it. And finally, there are books I return to again and
again because their sentences are just so beautiful. Giovanni’s Room
by James Baldwin. Rebecca Lee’s short story collection Bobcat.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night. Writers whose prose move
like light on water.
I read that the release of your much-loved
first novel, Cleopatra and Frankenstein,
was five years in the making. How was it for
you to see your book make its way into the
world?
It is impossible for me to convey how indebted
I am to booksellers and readers for the success of
Cleopatra and Frankenstein. Many of my happiest
memories from the past two years are from
visiting bookstores in Europe while travelling
or on tour and meeting fellow book lovers, often
chatting well past closing hours (for which
I apologise!). My first novel was not easy to sell,
so it has never felt inevitable to me that I would
be here now promoting my second book while
working on my third, able to dedicate myself
to writing fiction full-time for the first time in
my life. It took me a long time to get here, and
now I’m glad it did, because it’s given me the gift
of perspective. It feels miraculous, to be honest,
and like I’m the luckiest person in the world.
Blue Sisters
Coco Mellors,
Harper Collins UK,
CHF 29.90
Cleo is 24 and an art student
who lives her life from day
to day and is often to be found
at parties. Then at one New
Year’s Eve party she meets
Frank, and her life is changed
forever. Twenty years her
senior, with a successful
career, the two seem like an
unlikely match. But shortly
after their first date they
decide to get married. What
unfolds is a kaleidoscopic
story about the interwoven
lives of friends and family,
at once heartbreaking, witty,
tender and funny.
One year after the death
of Nicole, the three remaining
Blue sisters are drowning in
heartbreak and grief. Estranged
and at a loss for how to go on
with their lives, they find themselves
going back to their roots
and realise that they share much
more than a story of unresolved
conflict, disappointment, loss
and addiction. An engrossing,
deeply moving and hopeful ode
to sibling love.
Cleopatra and
Frankenstein
Coco Mellors,
Harper Collins UK,
CHF 18.90
6 Bookmark Magazine Interview
Bookmark Magazine
Interview
7

Rip-Roaring
Releases
Discover the best new reads
of the season.
Text by Christine Modafferi
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This is a book about great inner
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transformation and growth.
Matt Haig’s latest release lends a touch of
magic to reflections on the state of the
environment, the consequences of humans
tampering with it, as well as grief and
forgiveness. The story begins with retired
maths teacher and widower Grace Winters
who, years ago, paid a kindness to a colleague;
a kindness that is repaid when, upon her
colleague’s mysterious death, Grace inherits
her home in Ibiza. Still coming to terms
with the death of her own son, Grace sets
out to visit her new, dishevelled home,
and soon discovers there’s much more to her
acquaintance’s death – and to the island
itself – than she could have ever imagined.
The Life Impossible
Matt Haig, Canongate, CHF 29.90
William Boyd is one of Britain’s
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greatest and most prolific novelists,
going from strength to strength with
each new title. In Gabriel’s Moon, thriller
and espionage genres meet against the
backdrop of 1960s London and Europe.
At the centre of all action is Gabriel, a successful
travel writer who is offered the job of
a lifetime: travelling to Congo to interview
President Patrice Lumumba. Shortly after
they meet, the president is murdered.
Gabriel’s story gets squashed, burying the
president’s secrets with him. But Gabriel
knows too much, and quickly finds himself
entangled in a sticky web of spies and a
budding relationship with the alluring Faith
Green of MI6. As he works his way through
Faith’s many demands, digging himself
deeper into danger, he can’t help but question
the mysterious happenings of his own past.
This is a story of layers, memories and the
ripple effects of trauma.
Gabriel’s Moon
William Boyd, Penguin Random House UK, CHF 27.90
Known for her nuanced and insightful
hand, Sally Rooney brings us
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another tale of quietly turbulent relationships
and human connection. In Intermezzo,
we join a family at the peak of its grief,
meeting two brothers who have lost their
father. Two brothers with a ten-year age
gap. Two brothers who are very different
and in many ways estranged. When grief
hits, it marks time: there’s suddenly
a before and an after. When we meet our two
main characters, they are somewhat in the
middle, metabolising the loss of their father.
They are effectively living the interlude;
the intermezzo. Over the course of the
novel, we slowly build insight into each of
their lives, relationships, ways of thinking,
and, ultimately, how they might find
mutual connection and understanding.
What can we say? Sally Rooney’s gone and
done it again!
Intermezzo
Sally Rooney, Faber & Faber, CHF 28.90
There are literary genres with their
4
allocated tropes. Then there’s Ali Smith.
We’ve been patiently waiting for more since
her magnum opus, the critically acclaimed
and award-winning Seasonal Quartet.
Finally, we may quench our thirst and feed
the mind once more with a new ambitious
project from the literary hero of our time.
Gliff, the title of this novel, is inspired by
the Scottish word meaning ‘a transient
moment, a shock, a faint glimpse’. This novel
is a nod to Kafka and dystopian literature
in light of wanting to find the humanity in
our own digital age. However, if there’s
one thing to expect from Ali Smith, it’s the
unexpected. We’ll only be able to truly
experience the fullness of her latest feat
when the second part of this duology is
released, to reveal a secret hidden story
woven into Gliff.
Gliff
Ali Smith, Penguin Random House UK, CHF 29.90
Pulitzer prize-winning Elizabeth
5
Strout has been working on the
Amgash series for the better part of a decade
now, exploring the ever-fascinating themes
of the meaning of life, love and time.
Strout has taken her magnifying glass to
mothers and their daughters, siblings, decadeslong
partnerships and the complex pasts
that come with them. In Tell Me Everything,
we look at the relationships that could
have been and the joy of finding new friendships
as we mature.
This book is also special in its bringing
characters from Strout’s wider bibliography
together: Bob Burgess, who we first met
in The Burgess Boys, Olive Kitteridge, who
has her own duology, and of course Lucy
Barton, the protagonist of the Amgash books.
Tell Me Everything truly has it all: a murder
mystery, complicated romance, female
friendship and, the cherry on top, tales of
the ‘unrecorded lives’ that never make the
news yet are so important in close-knit
communities.
Tell Me Everything
Elizabeth Strout, Penguin Random House UK, CHF 29.90
There have been whisperings of a
6
potential new Richard Osman series,
and now it’s finally here! It has already
been optioned by Netflix and, to put it in
the publisher’s words, “carries Richard’s
hallmarks […]: brilliantly relatable characters,
his trade mark storytelling wit and warmth,
and the exciting new international setting”.
And Thursday Murder Club lovers need not
fear: we’re still in the realm of a crimebusting
retiree, and this time with a twist.
We Solve Murders sees at its forefront a
father- and daughter-in-law duo. It all starts
when private security guard Amy discovers
a dead body and a bag of money, while on
the job. The only person she knows she
can trust and who has the detective skills to
figure out what’s going on is her father- inlaw.
So she bursts his quiet-life bubble and
takes him on an around-the-world
adventure.
We Solve Murders
Richard Osman, Penguin Random House UK, CHF 29.90
Get your tissues ready! Before We
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Forget Kindness welcomes us back into
Funiculi Funicula, the warm coffee shop
nestled in the heart of Jimbocho, Tokyo,
where visitors can travel back in time to
have a cup of coffee with a loved one. In this
fifth book of the international bestselling
Before the Coffee Gets Cold series by Japanese
author Toshikazu Kawaguchi, we meet
four brand-new characters, each looking to
meet someone from their past so they can
move on with their own present and future:
a strict father who wants to set things right
with his daughter, a woman whose chance
to give her lover Valentine’s Day chocolates
was stolen, a mother who lost her baby and
a boy who wants to see his parents again.
They can’t change their present, but all
questions can be asked, regrets can be confessed,
and records set right – with just
one cup of coffee.
Before We Forget Kindness
Toshikazu Kawaguchi, PanMacmillan, CHF 19.90
Shy Creatures by the award-winning
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master of historical fiction Clare
Chambers plays out over the course of
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Bookmark Magazine
New releases
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30 years. The novel explores the lives
of Helen Hansford, art therapist and mistress
to a married doctor, and William Tapping,
a non-verbal man who has been found living
in hiding with his aunt.
We’re in 1964 Croydon, London, when
young Helen meets her new patient, William.
William is not much older than she is,
and while he cannot speak, he nonetheless
displays a particular talent for art. Helen
sets out to understand what led the man to
seek isolation, and in doing so becomes
aware of the ways in which she’s isolated
too: she doesn’t have many friends, has a
complex relationship with her family and is
the protagonist of an illicit affair. As their
stories unfold, we explore themes of power,
love and desire, and just how inter connected
they are, coupled with both characters’
needs to heal their trauma and find their
own roads to freedom.
Shy Creatures
Clare Chambers, Orion Publishing Group, CHF 29.90
Mystery. Dark humour. Dysfunctional
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families. These are the building blocks
of anything for Bella Mackie. Luckily for us,
following the massive success of How to Kill
Your Family, this year we get a new pastelcoloured
page-turner.
The protagonists of What A Way To Go are
the Wisterns, a gorgeous, luxury-obsessed,
wealthy-beyond-your-imagination family.
They seem to have the perfect life. Then
Anthony Wistern dies, and that’s just how
we meet him: living in the in-between to
watch his family learn of his passing … and
figure out what on earth has happened to
him. Along with his point of view, we also
enter the mind of his widow and that of
The Sleuth, a true-crime internet sensation
who has a sneaky suspicion that Anthony’s
family isn’t as innocent as they claim to
be. Laugh-out-loud funny in its nods to the
disgustingly rich and the online sleuths
garnering views as we speak, fans of
Succession and Dynasty are in for a treat.
What A Way To Go
Bella Mackie, Harper Collins UK, CHF 27.90
The literary debut of the year, Mai
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Sennaar is a brilliant new voice in
American literature who combines historical
events and globe-trotting with complex
year-long relationships and stardom in They
Dream in Gold.
Our protagonists, Bonnie and Mansour,
are a musical phenomenon, brought together
not only thanks to their love for jazz but
their shared experience as migrants in search
for a better life, a life of meaning, a life of
purpose. Music takes them across the
world. They take care of family. They find
romantic love. They succeed. But then
Mansour mysteriously disappears during
the Spanish leg of his tour, and Bonnie,
pregnant with their child, sets out to find
him. To describe her journey, we’ve got
Sennaar’s lyrical, melodic prose that so
meticulously explores a 20-year history
of African diaspora across the world,
from 1950s Senegal, Europe’s underground
scene, joyous South American festivals
and the American riots of 1968 through a
soaring symphony of sounds, smells and
tastes.
They Dream in Gold
Mai Sennaar, PanMacmillan, CHF 29.90
Main character Brooke feels the same
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way many millennials do: cheated.
All the studying and hard work have not led
to the promised pinnacles of adulthood of
previous generations. So, at 33 she starts over,
taking on a new role which involves managing
a billionaire’s fortune for charitable
causes, a role she feels is very much in line
with her principles. But as she gets closer
to her billionaire boss, sees how wealth can
be managed and the lifestyle it enables, those
firm principles begin to falter.
But we must refrain from judging Brooke’s
downfall, for no one is entirely innocent or
fully well-intentioned in this world.
‘Entitlement is a book about the role of money
in contemporary life, a subject that has
long fascinated me,’ said bestselling author
Rumaan Alam upon the acquisition of this
fourth novel, which ultimately proves
it self to be a deep exploration of how money
subtly drives morality, privilege and
consumption.
Entitlement
Rumaan Alam, Bloomsbury, CHF 29.90
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner also
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offers pondered reflections on capitalism,
its influence on the society we live in,
and how our identity and motives can be so
easily lost within its steel cage bars. We in
fact never find out our narrator’s true name –
our protagonist is a spy who calls herself
Sadie Smith. Sent to rural France to infiltrate
a group of radicals, she soon finds herself
under the spell of its charismatic leader,
Bruno Lacombe.
The novel has already been longlisted for
The Booker Prize 2024. This comes as no
surprise, as Kushner masterfully poses to
the reader philosophical and anthropological
questions regarding the costs of progress,
the core of humanity and how our roles in
society define our choices.
Creation Lake
Rachel Kushner, Penguin Random House UK, CHF 29.90
Also longlisted for The Booker Prize
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2024 is the marvellous Playground
by Richard Powers. In this book, we witness
four very different lives intersecting as
the world is on the verge of change. Autonomous
cities at sea are very much in the
works, and a French Polynesian island is
selected as the first base for seasteading.
A poet, an AI pioneer, a marine biologist
and an artist who has always lived at sea
are the gatekeepers of this change, each with
their own ambitions, trauma, principles
and grudges.
This book draws on many of the anxieties
of our age, tackling the ever-growing
problem that is climate change as well as
the advent of AI through a multiple-POV
narrative voice.
Playground
Richard Powers, W. W. Norton, CHF 27.90
Possibly one of the most experimental
14
novels of Chuck Palahniuk, Shock
Induction is unsettling and gripping all in
one. Overachieving students seem to be
disappearing from a highly esteemed high
school by the day, but this is no murder
mystery. As the story unfolds, dark secrets
about the school, its students and parents
are revealed: the students have been under
scrutiny since the first day they were born.
Who is watching them? Billionaires looking
for the crème de la crème of talent. Where
do these students end up? Giving up their
life and smarts to feed the rich’s future projects.
As main character Samantha’s story
unfolds, one can’t help but wonder what she
will choose – and if she even has a choice.
In typical Palahniukan style, you can expect
a whirlwind of plot, vivid imagery and all
things strange.
Shock Induction
Chuck Palahniuk, Simon & Schuster, CHF 27.90
First there was hygge, the Danish way
15
to live well. Then there was lagom,
the Swedish concept of a balanced life. More
recently, we’ve seen ikigai, the Japanese
secret to a happy life. Now we have purushartha,
the Hindu concept of purpose. The Four­
Way Path by Francesc Miralles and Héctor
García brings to the mainstream the Hindu
philosophy that encompasses virtue, prosperity,
love, and freedom.
Within the book, the authors break down
the four steps of purushartha in ways that
are both clear and empowering. We look at
dharma (our role in the world), kama (our
passion in life), artha (our needs) and moksha
(our emancipated self), and how they all
work together. When these four pillars are
in harmony, we’re able to live a balanced,
inspired and ultimately happy life that reflects
our purpose. Inspirational and
insightful, this is a sweet introduction to
the life-changing way of living in pursuit
of not only happiness, but balance, success
and purpose.
The Four-Way Path
Héctor García, Francesc Miralles,
Penguin Random House UK, CHF 29.90
Covid may feel like it happened a
16
life time ago, but its ripple effects
are still very much with us. Chloe Dalton’s
beautiful memoir Raising Hare is a thoughtful,
touching lockdown story of connection
that stemmed from that dark, unprecedented
time.
On a winter’s morning in 2020, Dalton discovers
a baby hare in the countryside, where
she’s retreated to wait out the pandemic.
The poor leveret has been chased by dogs
and brutally separated from its mother,
doomed to death. Dalton takes the little hare
in, and so their story begins with bottle
feeds and early morning scratches in bed.
This is a tale of dark times illuminated by
hope, of the small things that bring joy and
the human need for love, trust and connection
with nature.
Raising Hare
Chloe Dalton, Canongate, CHF 29.90
10 Bookmark Magazine New releases
Bookmark Magazine
New releases
11

Books for
Book Lovers
Nothing screams quality time more than snuggling up
with a good book and a cuppa, and what better
way to celebrate the most bookish season of the year
than romanticising the heck out of it? It is time to
stock up on fuzzy socks, load up on the tea and bring
out the blankets – cosy season is finally upon us!
1
1
What You Are Looking
for is in the Library
A magical librarian finds the perfect
book for five very different, very lost
characters.
3
Michiko Aoyama, Penguin Random
House UK, CHF 19.90
Bibliotherapy. Books
to Guide You Through
Every Chapter of Life
A literary guide to all the books you
should read at different stages of life
by way of therapy.
5
Molly Masters, Harper Collins UK,
CHF 29.90
The Midnight Library
A loving story of looking at
all the lives we could have had and
finding the strength to start again.
2
Welcome to the
Hyunam-dong Bookshop
The perfect read for those who have
ever imagined leaving their busy life
for softer endeavours.
4
Hwang Bo-reum, Bloomsbury,
CHF 19.90
Bibliotherapy.
The Healing Power of
Reading
An in-depth look into the practice of
a bibliotherapist and the incredible
history of books used as a form of
therapy.
Bijal Shah, Little, Brown and Company,
CHF 29.90
Text by Christine Modafferi
2
Matt Haig, Canongate,
CHF 19.90
Step one of romanticising your bookish tendencies is reading books about, well, books. Or about
characters reading books. Or about libraries. Or bookshops. You get the gist. We’ve taken it
upon ourselves to find the very best of the bunch, so that when the days start getting colder and
start to smell like pumpkin spice or hot chocolate, there is only one thing to do: steal away with
one of the book-themed titles below.
Our round-up includes stories of librarians who always know just what you need, small-town
bookshop owners, fantastical creatures who fall in love with reading, couples who find
each other thanks to the great classics, and even studies of the therapeutic practice called ‘bibliotherapy’.
One thing is certain: these are all books for true book lovers.
1 What You Are Looking for is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
There is something quite magical in the power of a good book recommendation – we certainly
know that. With What You Are Looking for is in the Library, author Michiko Aoyama takes us to
the best place to get one: the comforting walls of a library, as the very title suggests.
Split across five sections, we meet a new character in each section of the book. They are all living
in Tokyo, all at very different stages in life, and all feeling rather lost. Their local librarian,
Sayuri Komachi, asks each of them a simple question: ‘What are you looking for?’ It’s a question
that peels back the layers, revealing the vulnerabilities of all those she meets, from a young
woman struggling to kickstart her career to a newly retired man wondering about his purpose
in life. The ultimate message? It’s never too late to start again. By the end of this book, one can’t
help but ask that very same innocent yet charged question: What am I looking for?
2 Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum
If the aforementioned What You Are Looking for is in the Library reads as a love letter to libraries
and all librarians, Welcome to the Hyunam­dong Bookshop is for all our favourite bookshops,
book clubs and booksellers.
This is a book that heals the soul, very much in the same vein as Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert,
but with a bookish twist and more subtle character journeys. Our main character Yeongju has
everything one would supposedly need to be happy on paper: the skyrocketing career, the husband,
the big-city life… But all that glitters is certainly not gold. So she takes a leap of faith, opening up
her very own bookshop just outside the city. On her healing journey, themes like parental expectations,
burnout and self-acceptance are rooted in each new customer Yeongju meets.
To keep her business afloat, Yeongju works with Minjun, a barista who loves sharing little nuggets
of trivia about our brew of choice. Take this book recommendation as a gentle nudge to also
4
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5
slow down and cosy up with a warm cappuccino – because, yes, this
is also a book for the coffee lovers.
3 Bibliotherapy: Books to Guide You Through Every Chapter
of Life by Molly Masters
It would be so lovely to get a book recommendation from Sayuri
Komachi or Yeongju, wouldn’t it? Since we can’t quite meet them
in real life, here is a book that encompasses all their empathy,
wisdom, and love for reading. Bibliotherapy: Books to Guide You
Through Every Chapter of Life is written by the Forbes 30 Under
30 Molly Masters, founder of Books That Matter, a subscription
service for books by women.
The guide draws on the practice of self-medicating with books. We’ve
all done it before – sought guidance, refuge, and escapism in stories –
and it finally has a name: bibliotherapy. Molly Masters has curated
the perfect list of books to turn to when in need of some bibliotherapy,
covering all stages of life from first love, new beginnings, experiencing
loss and going on a journey of self- discovery. There are books to
build confidence and courage and books to use as your compass when
feeling lost. A brilliant collection of bookish recommendations to
buy for yourself.
4 Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading by Bijal Shah
Now, if this is the first time you’re hearing of the word ‘biblio therapy’
and your mind has been blown, fear not, for we have more on the
matter. Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading is a deep dive
into the therapeutic practice of its author, Bijal Shah.
Through therapeutic reading, Shah’s clients have made remarkable
change in both their personal and professional lives, and with this
book she recounts the many stories of healing she has witnessed
through her practice. Of course, her real-life clients have been
fictionalised to protect their privacy, but the core message doesn’t
change: the art of prescribing books can bring meaning, connection
and healing to a patient. The cherry on top is all the brilliant history
that she brings into her study, moving from the ancient Greeks to
hospital librarians during the World Wars – these are the precious
nuggets of information that feed a book lover’s soul.
12 Bookmark Magazine Main feature
Main feature
13

6
The Book Swap
The epistolary rom-com
of the year – side-effects include
kicking your feet in the air and
swooning!
Tessa Bickers, Hodder & Stoughton,
CHF 29.90
More Days at the
7 Morisaki Bookshop
A heart-warming follow-up
takes us back to the world’s
favourite fictional bookshop.
Satoshi Yagisawa, Bonnier,
CHF 19.90
6 7
8
9
8 How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry
For extra coziness on your bookish sessions, just imagine reading about a bookshop
set in the gorgeous English Cotswolds. Then add to it a set of brilliant customers,
each with their own stories, hopes, and secrets. Finally, give it a sprinkle of romance,
and you’ve got the perfect book to go with a warm cup of cocoa.
How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry is one of those books that tugs
at the heartstrings and makes life feel just a little lighter, although its characters
face trials and tribulations of their own, starting with Nightingale Books’ very
owner. Emilia Nightingale’s father has just passed away, and he’s left her his bookstore
with one last wish: that she never closes up shop. But property developers are
swarming, and Emilia is increasingly feeling the pressure. Her customers help,
lifting her up when she falters, and the bookshop in return is their safe haven.
This is also the book’s ultimate message: a bookshop belongs not only to its owners
but to its entire community.
How to Find Love
8 in a Bookshop
If your idea of the ultimate
meet-cute is finding love in a
book shop, this one’s for you!
Veronica Henry, Orion Publishing
Group, CHF 19.90
9 The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore
Following the Sunday Times bestseller and TikTok favourite The Pumpkin Spice Café,
we’re in for the cosiest autumn with Laurie Gilmore’s follow-up, The Cinnamon Bun
Book Store. Just like the first book in the Dream Harbor series, we are promised
a small-town romance, cosy feels and the opposites-attract trope. All promises are
met as we’re served up a delicious plate of cinnamon buns, secret messages hidden
in books and sexy fishermen.
9
The Cinnamon Bun
Book Store
Small-town vibes, hot fishermen
and secret messages hidden in
books are the building blocks of
the cosiest autumnal romance!
Laurie Gilmore, HarperCollins UK,
CHF 19.90
Our story begins with almost-30-year-old Hazel who feels like she’s played safe most
of her life: she is feeling rather stuck and craves a change. When she discovers a
hidden message in a book, she decides this is her chance at adventure. To help her
on her bookish quest, she must recruit the friendly local fisherman, Noah, who
is not only incredibly handsome, but who has also already fallen for Hazel. The
result is a delicious novel that will make you giggle and swoon, perfect to read if
you’re looking for pure escapism and spicy romance.
5 The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Then there are the characters who don’t quite feel they can make big
changes in their life, who have lost all hopes and dreams. Meet Nora
Seed, the protagonist of Matt Haig’s award-winning The Midnight
Library. Nora has spent her entire life making others happy, and we
meet her just when her cup is at its emptiest. Full of regret, the loss
of her job and her beloved cat tip her over the edge, resulting in a
tragic suicide attempt.
But on that very fateful night, she is welcomed into the midnight
library, where she can find and read all the books of potential lives
she’s not chosen. She goes through each book, slipping into every
life that could have been: that of an Olympic medallist, a wife, a songwriter,
a mother and even a pub owner. But each life she vicariously
lives is a whole string of choices – and consequential regrets.
The Midnight Library perfectly balances empathy and encouragement,
ultimately reminding readers that there is always still a set of decisions
to be made.
6 The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers
The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers is also layered with heavier themes,
second chances and new beginnings, with a sweet nod to our favourite
literary classics. This is an epistolary novel, but rather than
through letters, the protagonists communicate through anonymous
book annotations – which just speaks to our book-loving hearts!
We meet our two main characters at their lowest points in life: Erin
has just lost her best friend and her job. James is looking after his
ill mother. Both are grieving, and both turn to the library only to find
each other … again. Because, yes, Erin and James have a turbulent
past and maybe, just maybe, they’ll be able to find each other again
through their love for the great classics.
7 More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
The Jimbocho neighbourhood in Tokyo is a book lover’s dream come
true: a sweet pocket of city life lined with bookshops and cosy
coffee shops. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa is
set in this very neighbourhood and has taken the world by storm,
becoming an international bestseller since its first publication years
ago. Finally, we get a second book, just as gentle and soft as the
first, with our much-loved main characters, Takako and her uncle
Satoru.
Takako has overcome heartbreak, and Satoru has found love again.
But our protagonists face a difficult decision: times are tough,
and they aren’t sure they can keep the family bookshop open. This
leads to nothing but beautiful reflections on the importance of
stories in our lives and how books can feel like friends when nowhere
feels like home. In this book, we get a closer look at their family
roots, as well as some of the shop’s customers. Another beautiful,
short and sweet read that feels like a hug in a book (and might make
you cry).
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12
10
Bookshops &
Bonedust
A story all about falling in love
with reading, this book gives
you permission to slow down.
11
Travis Baldree, PanMacmillan,
CHF 19.90
A Reader’s Journal.
Read, Remember,
and Reflect On Your
Favorite Books
If you enjoy tracking your reading
each year, this is the perfect
guided journal for you!
Bookishly, Penguin Random House US,
CHF 23.90
12
Books Make Good
Friends. Activity
Book
This one is for the creative,
crafty readers – an activity
book centred around reading.
Jane Mount,, Abrams & Chronicle Books,
CHF 21.90
14 Bookmark Magazine Main feature
15

10 Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
Legends & Lattes by New York Times bestselling author Travis Baldree
truly changed the game within the fantasy genre. Its low stakes,
loveable characters and incredible world populated by orcs and hobs,
elves, gnomes and dwarves completely stole our hearts. Finally,
we get the paperback edition of this story’s prequel, and it’s called
Bookshops & Bonedust.
In this book we meet sword-for-hire Viv in the years before she’s ready
to hang up her daggers and open a quaint coffee shop. Viv is at the
height of her career as a sword-swinging adventurer, but when she
injures a leg on one of her many missions, she must take some time
away to recuperate by the quiet seaside. Here she will meet a curious
bookshop owner rat who, by sharing his love for literature, instils
that same passion for reading in Viv. She may still have many years
brimming with battles ahead, but this prequel plants a seed for who
Viv will grow to become in Legends & Lattes.
11 A Reader’s Journal. Read, Remember, and Reflect on
Your Favorite Books
One of the great joys of being a book lover is journalling about your
most recently read books! If the book-tracking apps aren’t quite for
you, or you’re simply on the hunt for a special gift for that avid
reader friend, this 160-page gem is a precious tool to log, track, and
remember everything you read in a year. The journal is perfect for
seasoned journalling lovers as well as beginners. It has 52 spaces to
fill with all your books, as well as activities, quotes, illustrations and
logging prompts to level up your bookish adventures.
What we especially love about A Reader’s Journal is its gentle
approach to reading goals. There’s no time limit and no pressure
beyond setting some very open-ended goals, for example writing
about new genres you might want to try out. This is one of the most
approachable journals on the market and perfectly portable, so
you can keep it in your bag with your e-reader or current read in
physical form.
12 Books Make Good Friends. Activity Book by Jane Mount
How many journals are too many journals? We would argue that
there’s no use in counting, so just add this gorgeously illustrated
activity book to your list! Jane Mount is a visual artist specialising
in all things bibliophile, and author of many books that celebrate
the joy of reading, including Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany,
Bibliophile: Diverse Spines and, most recently, Books Make Good
Friends, a children’s picture book. Now, we finally get to join in on
the fun. Books Make Good Friends, Activity Book is an accompanying
workbook to her children’s picture book, but it’s meant for readers
of all ages.
The book is packed with activities, crafts, games and stickers. You
can create your own ideal bookshelf by drawing and colouring in
a stack of empty book spines, challenging yourself to track how many
hours you read in a day and even creating your own bookmarks
with stickers and punch-out pages. This is pure mindfulness for bibliophiles
… or a useful boredom buster for those of us with young readers
in the making.
With road trips, rivalries,
family curses, love stories and
sorrows and joys passed from
generation to generation, this is
the intricate, luminous tale of
a family’s complicated past and
present. Only in telling their
stories can they hope to rewrite
their futures.
When the World Tips Over
Jandy Nelson, Walker, CHF 18.90
Dragons are extinct. Witches
are outcast. Magic is dying.
But human lust for power is
immortal. Magic is not dead …
it is only sleeping. And it will
take one ordinary girl with
an extraordinary destiny to
awaken it.
A Fire in the Sky
Sophie Jordan, Harper Collins UK,
CHF 28.90
Introducing
When a young man’s girlfriend
mysteriously vanishes, he sets
his heart on finding the imaginary
city where her true self
lives. His search will lead him to
take a job in a library with mysteries
of its own. A new novel
about the boundaries between
worlds and individuals, from
the internationally bestselling
author of 1Q84.
The City and Its
Uncertain Walls
Haruki Murakami, Penguin Random
House UK, CHF 39.90
For sixteen years, Angela Merkel
was Chancellor of Germany
and led the country through
numerous crises. In her memoir,
co-written with her long-time
political advisor Beate Baumann,
she reflects on her life in two
German states – thirty-five years
in the German Democratic
Republic and thirty-five years in
reunited Germany.
Freedom
Angela Merkel, Pan Macmillan,
CHF 59.90
Release date: 26 November 2024
The extraordinary life of Cher
can be told by only one person …
Cher herself. After more than
seventy years of fighting to live
life on her own terms in this
memoir, Cher finally reveals her
true story in intimate detail.
The Memoir, Part One
Cher, Harper Collins UK, CHF 35.90
Over half a century after their
songs were recorded, ABBA’s
songs still make people dance
and sing every day. Their ability
to evoke emotion has made
them the ultimate sound track to
major life events. With exclusive
interviews and over a decade of
deep research, renowned music
journalist Jan Gradvall explores
the secret to ABBA’s success.
Lisa Marie Presley lifts the lid
on the wild love stories, marriages
and close relationships –
from her childhood to the death
of her father, Elvis Presley,
the dreadful aftermath, the relationship
with her mother, and
difficult teen years. Lisa speaks
breathtakingly about motherhood
and heartbreakingly about
the shattering loss of her son.
This book charts the emergence
of Kate Bush as a courageous
experimentalist, a singularly
expressive recording artist and
a visionary music producer.
Leah Kardos explores the farreaching
influence of the Hounds
of Love album, which 37 years
later saw Running Up That Hill
become one of the most popular
songs in the world.
The Book of ABBA
Melancholy Undercover
Jan Gradvall, Faber & Faber, CHF 29.90
From Here to the Great
Unknown: A Memoir
Lisa Marie Presley, Riley Keough,
Pan Macmillan, CHF 29.90
Kate Bush’s Hounds
Of Love
Leah Kardos, Bloomsbury Academic,
CHF 19.90
Bookmark Magazine
Introducing
17

What We Loved
Recommendations from our book experts.
Jane, Stauffacher Bern
1
When the author’s older brother is
suddenly diagnosed with cancer, he decides to
escape to the most beautiful place he knows:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He gets a
job as a guard at the museum, and the reader
is allowed an insight into a world rarely
seen by a museum visitor. We can marvel
with the author at the priceless art on show
and get to know the wonderful people who
work there.
All The Beauty in the World
Patrick Bringley, Vermilion, CHF 19.90
Lena, Orell Füssli Airport Center
2
A cute YAstory about academic
rivalry. Sadie Wen is a people pleaser but
whenever she’s frustrated, she drafts emails
to all of the people that get on her nerves.
Accidentally, all of those emails are sent out
to so-called friends and teachers. But the
person who receives the most is Julius, Sadie’s
rival from school. The chaos could not be
more perfect. A refreshing and cute story
about standing up for yourself.
I Hope This Doesn’t Find You
Ann Liang, Scholastic Ltd., CHF 18.90
Sinja, Orell Füssli Airport Center
3
Emily Henry’s latest novel is another
hit! After Daphne’s fiancé leaves her for
his childhood friend, she is faced with the
fact that she has built her whole life around
him. Could it truly be her fiancé’s new girlfriend’s
ex-boyfriend who helps her realise
that there is much more to her life than
she had previously thought? With its witty
conversations and truly loveable characters,
this story is as funny as it is touching.
Funny Story
Emily Henry, Penguin LLC US, CHF 24.90
Alexandra, Orell Füssli Bahnhof
4
St. Gallen
Iris is slim, liked by everyone and always
makes sure she looks nice. She even gets
her big promotion. So why is it she can’t stop
crying and getting into self-destructive
behaviour, pushing away people who care?
A very powerful debut novel, a mirror for
many of us, exploring mental health issues,
toxic relationships and friendships as well
as the experience of young women in
today’s society.
Everyone I Know is Dying
Emily Slapper, HarperCollins, CHF 27.90
Libby, Orell Füssli Kramhof Zürich
5
Seth Godin returns with another
inspiring and collaborative book featuring
his usual conversational style and ability to
distil complex ideas into bite-sized chunks.
A great one for anyone needing a motivational
boost or a way to view creative work
slightly differently.
The Practice:
Shipping Creative Work
Seth Godin, Penguin Books Ltd, CHF 29.90
Melanie, Orell Füssli Marktgasse
6
Winterthur
A thrilling romantic suspense novel about
identity theft by Nora Roberts!
Once again, Roberts delivers a compelling
story with very likeable and sometimes
quirky characters, traumatic events from
the past, a slow burn love story, and – of
course – a dog. I really enjoyed this standalone!
Identity
Nora Roberts, Little Brown, CHF 24.90
Ella, Orell Füssli Wirz Aarau
7
How do you settle for the quiet life
after spending years as a bounty hunter?
And introduce people to coffee? Legends &
Lattes is all about those deep meaningful
friendships and relatable feelings when
being some place foreign and new.
A wholesome, slice-of-life fantasy read
with a queer love story embedded in the
coziness of your favourite coffee shop.
Legends & Lattes
Travis Baldree, Pan Macmillan, CHF 19.90
Egzona, ZAP Brig
8
Lauren and Ryan fell in love back
in college and became inseparable from
then on. After 15 years of marriage, they
find themselves very unhappy.
They make the decision to separate for
a year with the condition of not seeing each
other during that time. Join them on their
journey and find out when and if it’s worth
fighting for. It’s unbelievable what an impact
a book can have on you.
After I do
Taylor Jenkins Reid, Somin & Schuster, CHF 18.90
Linda, Barth Zürich
9
Awfully horrible stories by the
bizarre mind of Mariana Enriquez, one of
the most beloved authors in contemporary
Argentinian writing. The book comes with
an unbeatably cool design – obviously
don’t judge the book by it’s cover – but here
I’ll gladly do so. It is urban atmospheric
with unforgettable weird twists in its twelve
heart-wrenching stories. Read it. Then
read it again. And again.
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed
Mariana Enriquez, Granta, CHF 18.90
Michael, Stauffacher Bern
10
One for the history buffs to revel in.
In 1929, airship R-101 was the largest object
ever to take to the air. It was to revolutionise
travel and would be the envy of the world.
But … fate took a turn.
His Majesty’s Airship
S. C. Gwynne, Oneworld Publications, CHF 23.90
Svenja, St. Gallen Rösslitor
11
Sáenz tells the story of the fifteenyear-old
boys Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza and
Dante Quintana. Ari spends summer
break at the local swimming pool, making
the life-changing acquaintance of Dante.
We follow them through tragic as well as
hilarious moments, while they’re constantly
debating philosophical questions and figuring
out their own queer identity.
Aristotle and Dante Discover
the Secrets of the Universe
Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Simon & Schuster, CHF 16.90
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18 Bookmark Magazine Book experts
Bookmark Magazine
Book experts
19

Highly Anticipated
Sinja, Orell Füssli Airport Center
12
What a debut! A beautifully atmospheric
and unique sapphic novel with
a dark and fantastical feel. It narrates the
life of a married couple after one wife’s
sub marine expedition has ended in catastrophe.
Julia Armfield shows true talent and
a distinctive voice as she details the ways in
which both women cope with this shared
tragedy. The novel shines with her fantastic
writing and the touching characters she’s
created.
Our Wives Under The Sea
Julia Armfield, Pan Macmillan, CHF 18.90
Arwen, Orell Füssli Kramhof Zürich
13
In this book, we don’t only learn
about Hawaiian culture, traditions and lifestyle
from afar, but also discover a way to
integrate it into our own lifestyles.
It’s about our connection to nature and our
own role within the environment and
community. A lovely collection full of rich
lessons and great photos, which gives off
comforting vibes.
Jane, Stauffacher Bern
14
Set in Venice in 1486, this is the story
of the Rosso family and the history of
glassmakers on the island of Murano. Orsola
is the eldest daughter of the family and
wants to become a glassmaker even though
it is something that society frowns upon
at this time. It is a beautiful historical novel
which follows the fate of the people of
Venice as well as the city itself as it changes
over the years.
The Glassmaker
Tracy Chevalier, HarperCollins, CHF 27.90
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A beautifully designed gift
edition of the #1 Japanese
bestseller – a celebration of
books, cats, and the people
who love them, infused with
the heartwarming spirit of
The Guest Cat and The Travelling
Cat Chronicles.
The Cat Who Saved
Books Gift Edition
Sosuke Natsukawa, Harper Collins US,
CHF 36.90
An elegant edition of #1 New
York Times bestselling author
Ann Patchett’s prized classic,
annotated and with an introduction
by the author herself.
Funny and unexpectedly moving,
it is an intimate encounter
with a celebrated novelist and
an opportunity to reconsider
a great work through her eyes.
Bel Canto Annotated
Edition
Ann Patchett, Harper Collins US,
CHF 49.90
Bristol Keats is desperate to save
her father and to discover the
truth. Pulled into a dangerous
world of magic and intrigue, she
makes a deadly bargain with
the fae king, Tyghan. But what
she does not know is that he is
the one who drove her parents
to live a life on the run. And he
is just as determined as she is to
find her father – dead or alive.
The Courting of Bristol
Keats
Mary E. Pearson, Pan Macmillan,
CHF 39.90
The need for a better understanding
of how we feed ourselves
has never been more urgent.
Sunday Times bestselling author
Julian Baggini advocates for a
pluralistic, humane, resourceful
and equitable global food philosophy
with food firmly at its
centre, so we can build a food
system fit for the twenty-first
century and beyond.
How the World Eats
Julian Baggini, Granta, CHF 29.90
Island Wisdom
Kainoa Daines and Annie Daly, Chronicle Books, CHF 29.90
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On a seemingly idyllic island
surrounded by the poisonous
fog that wiped out the rest of
the world, an isolated group of
villagers must solve a murder –
which no one can remember –
to keep the fog from engulfing
them all. A dazzlingly original
murder mystery from the author
of the bestselling The Seven
Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.
The Last Murder at
the End of the World
Stuart Turton, Bloomsbury, CHF 19.90
Release date: 13 March 2025
Yesterday, they were just exes.
Today, they’re a writer and
a publicist on tour in Europe …
for a month. The irresistible
bookish enemies-to-lovers, second
chance romance from new
British author Bianca Gillam.
Bad Publicity
Bianca Gillam, Bloomsbury, CHF 18.90
Release date: 30 January 2025
A whimsical and healing novel
about a trans man in New York
who – almost 30, laid off, broke –
moves back to his small Illinois
hometown, walks into the
book store he worked at in high
school … and slips through
time to come face-to-face with
his pre-transition, teenage self.
The In-Between
Book store
Edward Underhill, Harper Collins US,
CHF 26.90
Release date: 14 January 2025
In this exhilarating tale by
New York Times bestselling
author Nnedi Okorafor, a
disabled Nigerian-American
woman pens a wildly successful
sci-fi novel. But as her fame
rises, she loses control of the
narrative – a surprisingly cutting,
yet heartfelt drama about
art and love, identity and connection,
and, ultimately, what
makes us human.
Death of the Author
Nnedi Okorafor, Harper Collins US,
CHF 39.90
Release date: 14 January 2025
20 Bookmark Magazine Book experts
Bookmark Magazine
Highly Anticipated
21

Vlad, the faboulous Vampire © 2023 Flavia Zorrilla Drago
Stories for Young and Old
This is one glorious season for children’s books, from picture books
and chapter books to middle grade and YA. Expect sweet vampires
finding their confidence, big-brand releases, spellbinding romance
and stories that leave scars on the soul …
Text by Christine Modafferi
There is nothing quite as special as picking up a children’s book and
resonating with its story, however old you are. In this list, we’ve
made sure that there’s something for everyone, no matter their stage
in life. There are books that will make you laugh and others that
will make you cry. Some reflect on societal structures that so often
seem set in stone, others take the reader on a journey of inner struggle
and resilience. There are books about sibling love, self-love and
romantic love. It’s been a joy to select these titles, to experience
being a child, teenager and young adult all over again – which one
will you choose?
Aged 3 and up
3+
Vlad, the Fabulous Vampire
Flavia Z. Drago,
Walker Books, CHF 16.90
A cute vampire learns to love his unique
features … and discovers we all have our
own insecurities!
Starting off with a lovely picture book that
is perfect for Halloween but has a message
at its core to be shared year-round: Vlad, the
Fabu lous Vampire. It is part of the New York
Times bestselling Flavia Z. Drago’s World of
Gustavo books.
Deep in the Dark Woods, in an ancient shadowy
castle, lives a stylish little vampire who, like all his vampire
friends, wears nothing but black. But under his dark cape he hides
his secret, one that sets him apart from all the other vampires:
bright lively PINK cheeks! Along his journey he’ll realise all vampires
have their own insecurities and that our uniqueness shouldn’t be
hidden away but joyfully celebrated.
Oi Dinosaurs!
Kes Gray,
Hachette, CHF 24.90
3+
The most beautiful illustrations of
a sweet, little bear bring a story
of courage and sibling love to life.
We wrap up our favourite picture books
with Brave Little Bear by the brilliant
author-illustrator Steve Small. What sets
this book apart are not only its beautiful,
high-end illustrations, but its sweet message
about looking out for those we love
and finding courage when we are scared.
Little Arlo loves his home just as it is, so
when the time comes to leave his den upon
spring’s arrival, the prospect of change
makes him feel uneasy. And the journey
that awaits is no walk in the park, as a
snow storm hits, separating Arlo from the
bravest bear he knows: his sister Eva. To
save her, he must muster up all the courage
he has. This is the very heart of the book:
‘Being brave when you feel afraid is the very
bravest brave of all.’
The funniest of the bunch, this is the
only rhyming picture book about dinosaurs
you need!
If you’ve got a little one, you’re sure to have
at least one of the Oi Frog and Friends books
in your picture book stash. They’re perfect
for building vocabulary, learning phonics
and just having a good giggle. This year, our
wishes are finally granted – we get a dinosaur
one!
In this book, our favourite cat and frog
explain that dinosaurs did not sit on … anything!
Frog believes that in dinosaur times,
there wasn’t such an invention as sitting
just yet. But there were mammoths that sat
on prammoths and Toxodons that sat on
jack-in-the-the-box-odons. This series works
a treat to make bedtime fun, and now that
we’ve got a book with dinosaurs, we know
which one is our favourite …
3+
Brave Little Bear
Steve Small,
Simon & Schuster, CHF 16.90
Aged 7 and up
7+
Diary of a Wimpy Kid 19:
Hot Mess
Jeff Kinney,
Penguin Random House UK,
CHF 29.90
May this book serve as your warning to
NOT mess with the gods, especially on
Halloween.
Moving on to middle grade, this is a very
special year: we’re finally getting another
Percy Jackson book following the brilliant
success of the newly released Disney+ series.
And just in time for Halloween, as the
goddess Hecate has some All Hallow’s Eve
celebrations of her own. Together with his
two best friends, Annabeth and Grover,
Percy offers his pet-sitting services to Hecate
in exchange for a recommendation letter.
But her pets are deadly sweeties, and her
home is a treasure trove of all things
dangerous. Needless to say, it’s not long
before chaos unfolds.
The superstar of comic books is back
and ready to make you slap your
knees laughing with more mayhem
and messiness!
Comic books are a firm favourite for visual
readers, so we truly couldn’t be any more
excited for the 19th (yes, the 19th!) title in the
inter national bestselling Diary of a Wimpy
Kid series. Now that Greg Heffley has saved
his school from closing, it’s finally time
for a holiday. But if there’s anything to know
about this wimpy kid, it’s that things never
go as planned, and chaos is always just
around the corner. Greg is getting ready for
a family holiday, but things are looking
crowded – his parents have promised to
spend summer with both their extended
families. This is just as hilarious as all our
favourite Wimpy Kid books, so get ready:
it’s going to be a very awkward summer with
a side of hot, messy and secret spaghetti.
9+
Percy Jackson and
the Olympians: Wrath of
the Triple Goddess
Rick Riordan,
Penguin Random House UK,
CHF 27.90
Aged 12 and up
A powerful read about addiction, being
a teenager and facing our biggest fears.
We’re truly living an age of renaissance of
the young adult genre, with some brilliant,
thought-provoking titles in the works.
The Glass Girl by New York Times bestselling
author of Girl in Pieces, Kathleen Glasgow,
is one we’re most looking forward to. This
is the story of 15-year-old Bella, who has
struggled with addiction since the age of 11.
She finds herself in rehab, where she must
truly take a good look at herself, her past and
her deepest fears. The writing is lyrical
and the story powerful and important. This
is possibly Glasgow’s best writing yet.
The Maid and
the Crocodile
Jordan Ifueko,
Bonnier, CHF 18.90
12+
An orphan maid falls in love with a powerful,
dangerous god, changing the course of her
life forever.
Romantasy is the buzzword of the year. Whether
you’re looking to dip your toes in the genre for
the first time or you’re well-versed in TikTok’s
favourite bookish space, Jordan Ifueko’s
The Maid and the Crocodile is the book to read.
This is a standalone novel set in the muchloved
West African-inspired world of Ifueko’s
Raybearer duology. At the centre of our story
is Small Sade, an orphan maid who has the power
to change a person’s fate by just cleaning their
home. But her own fate is very much about to change when she meets
a god known as the Crocodile, famous for eating beautiful girls.
Packed full of whimsy and magical curses, this is a beautiful story
of stepping into our own power, writing our own stories and claiming
the magic within, regardless of our role in a set society.
A light-hearted rom-com about trying again
for true love.
Let’s finish off this list with a firm favourite,
shall we? New York Times bestselling author
Lynn Painter brings back to the forefront one
of the cutest couples to ever steal our hearts:
Better Than the Movie’s Liz and Wes.
However, Nothing Like the Movies begins with
our favourite next-door neighbours broken
up. Grief has hit Wes’ family, and Liz has had
to start college all by her heartbroken self.
Two years pass, and although it was Wes to call
things off, he just cannot accept that this is the
The Glass Girl
Kathleen Glasgow,
Oneworld Publications,
CHF 18.90
end of their story. He sets his heart on winning Liz over once again.
This is a beautiful second-chance romance that tugs at the heartstrings,
drawing again on all the rom-com gestures we love.
12+
Nothing Like the Movies
Lynn Painter,
Simon & Schuster,
CHF 18.90
14+
22 Bookmark Magazine Children and young readers
Bookmark Magazine
Children and young readers
23

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